The Grade 3 Vosburgh brings an accomplished group of dirt sprinters to Belmont Park on Saturday, September 26, with more than the $250,000 purse at stake. The seven furlong race is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, giving the winner an automatic place in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland.
Buttah arrives with momentum for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci. The New York bred has won two consecutive races, including the John Morrissey at Saratoga on August 6, and Javier Castellano retains the mount from post 9. A victory would also give Kantarmaci his first graded stakes win under his own name.
A deep sprint field
The challenge goes well beyond Buttah. Senior Officer enters for Brad Cox after finishing in a dead heat for second in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. Crazy Mason was close behind in fourth in that same race and already owns a Grade 2 Carter victory.
Contrary Thinking has produced consecutive career best Beyer Speed Figures of 99 in his recent Saratoga campaign, while Doc Sullivan has extensive experience at seven furlongs and finished fourth in both the Grade 1 Forego and the Vosburgh last year.
The field also includes Moonlight, El Grande O, Bring the Smoke, Ignite the Light and T Kraft. That variety creates a race with several plausible paths to victory rather than a single obvious controlling favorite.
Why the Vosburgh matters
The Breeders’ Cup Sprint consequence gives this race national importance. A win at Belmont provides an automatic route to Keeneland and offers a late season opportunity for a sprinter to establish championship credentials.
The Vosburgh is Race 9 on Saturday’s 11 race program. It comes immediately before the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Grade 2 Flower Bowl, giving Belmont one of the strongest cards of its new fall meet.
OTB Bet has already previewed the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and the Flower Bowl, two major turf races on the same September 26 program.
Source: New York Racing Association. Race details and field information were verified against NYRA’s official Vosburgh stakes advance.
